| − | #REDIRECT[[gun]]
| + | A '''firearm''' is device, typically used as a weapon, which fires projectile(s) with the force of the expanding gases created by the rapid burning of a confined [[propellant]] (typically [[gunpowder]]). Such weapons can be as small as [[handguns]], which can be carried and used in one hand, or as large as the [[cannon]] on a [[battleship]]. |
| | + | Such weapons are typically referred to as "[[gun]]s" in common usage. Gun has a particular meaning in specialist usage, however, when referring to larger weapons; a gun is a direct-fire weapon (which fires directly at the target), whereas a [[howitzer]] or [[mortar]] is an indirect-fire weapon (a weapon that fires in a high arc to drop its fire down on a target). |